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R. Scott Appleby

Professor of History
Director, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Clearing A Path For Peace

Best known for his studies of religious extremism and strategic peacebuilding, R. Scott Appleby, professor of history and director of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, regularly is consulted by scholars, religious leaders, policymakers and international media for insight into the world’s most pressing conflicts.

Newly elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Appleby’s scholarship and teaching focus on religious violence and peacebuilding. He is the director of “Contending Modernities,” a major new research project to examine the interaction among Catholic, Muslim and secular people and communities in the modern world.

“As the leader of what is probably the foremost peace institute in the world, he has brought in young scholars from all over the globe, and he sends them back as great apostles for peace.”

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of Notre Dame

“The problem of religious violence and tensions among religions and between the religious and secular forces are more sharply defined than ever,” Appleby says. “Our vision with this research project is to harness the power of ideas to chart a way forward across religious and secular divides to address the greatest challenges of the 21st century.”

Appleby is the author of “The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and Reconciliation” and editor of “Spokesmen for the Despised: Fundamentalist Leaders of the Middle East.” He recently co-chaired the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Task Force on Religion and the Making of U.S. Foreign Policy, which released the influential report “Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy.”

“I’m very proud of Scott Appleby’s work as director of the Kroc Institute,” says Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of Notre Dame. “As the leader of what is probably the foremost peace institute in the world, he has brought in young scholars from all over the globe, and he sends them back as great apostles for peace. God bless Scott for all he’s done to make this happen at Notre Dame.”